Removable Bottle Cap Assembly with Internal Storage Compartment

ABSTRACT

A removable cap assembly  100, 200, 300  includes a first portion  102, 302  defining a central axis  101  and configured to removably interface with a container opposite a mating surface  110  of the first portion; a second portion  122, 322,  adjacent to the mating surface, and comprising lateral sidewalls  124  and a top surface  128;  and a lower sealing member  142, 252  opposite the top surface that, with the lateral sidewalls  124  and the top surface, define a compartment  150  within the second portion. The removable cap assembly is arranged such that at least one component of the second portion is movable linearly with respect to the central axis so as to breach the internal compartment.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/686,751 (filed Apr. 11, 2012), and also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a) and 37 CFR 1.55 from UK Patent Application Serial No. GB 1215148.6 (filed Aug. 24, 2012).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The exemplary and non-limiting embodiments of this invention relate generally to removable caps for plastic and other types of bottles, and particularly such caps which have a separate compartment for storing liquids or powders separately from any contents of the bottle.

BACKGROUND

It is known that a removable bottle cap may include a separate sealed chamber or bladder for storing an additive such that breaching the sealed chamber will allow the additive to be released into a separate bottle onto which the cap is attached. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,681,958 and 7,614,496; U.S. Patent Publication 2009/0321380; and U.S. Design Patent Nos. D640,552 and D640,553.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,958 provides a supplement compartment in a nesting relationship atop a cap that covers the bottle/container. A liquid is disposed in the supplement compartment and it appears the user is required to fully remove the nested compartment/cap assembly before manually mingling the contents of the supplement compartment with the contents of the bottle.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,496 and the two referenced design patents build on this in that a twisting motion by the user breaches a seal between the supplement compartment and the bottle cap so the supplement falls into the bottle without necessitating removal of the cap. As illustrated, U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,496 implies a friction grip between the user's fingers and the lateral cylindrical exterior surface of the cap which causes knuckles to be driven downward in a rotating fashion to breach a plate into segments along score lines, which releases contents of the cap into the bottle. The two design patents provide larger lateral surfaces so that application by the user of a rotational force causes a circular cut along a score line of a divider between the cap compartment and the bottle, until a protrusion pushes the breached divider into an open position to release the cap contents into the bottle. Two problems are perceived in this design. Firstly, a twisting motion may not be suitable for some persons, particularly those with arthritis or who lack sufficient finger strength to impart enough rotational force to cause the breach these prior art teachings disclose. The rotational force needed for the Activate® line of drinks, which appear to implement the above design patents, is not insubstantial. Secondly, the extent of the rotational force necessitates that those lateral surfaces be fairly large so the user can properly apply the needed rotational force. This takes excessive material to form the cap due to that large size and also a sufficient thickness that the lateral surfaces do not deform under normal operation.

U.S. Patent Publication 2009/0321380 provides for a linear force by the user downward on the cap, which via gates and slots causes two gates to rotate relative to one another and align apertures in each so as to allow contents of the cap to fall into the bottle. Such an aperture-alignment approach does not appear suitable for liquids since it would appear that liquid would leak through even the misaligned apertures before the user intended to mix the cap contents into the bottle. The examples given in U.S. Patent Publication 2009/0321380 provide for solids in the cap compartment such as aspirin and powder.

What is needed in the art is a cap having a compartment suitable for storing a liquid separate from contents of a bottle which is breathable by a less forceful user action. Moreover, none of the above disclosures appears to provide for a flow through compartment in the cap such that a user may mix the cap contents with that of the container and then drink the mixture without ever having to remove the cap. Such a flow through cap is a popular convenience in sports bottles.

SUMMARY

The foregoing and other problems are overcome, and other advantages are realized, by the use of the exemplary embodiments of this invention.

In one aspect of the invention, exemplary embodiments of these teachings provide a removable cap assembly for a container, the assembly comprising a first portion and a second portion. The first portion defines a central axis and is configured to removably interface with a container opposite a mating surface of the first portion. The second portion is adjacent to the mating surface, and the second portion comprises lateral sidewalls and a top surface. The removable cap further comprises a lower sealing member opposite the top surface. The lateral sidewalls and the top surface and the lower sealing member define an internal compartment within the second portion. The removable cap assembly is arranged such that at least one component of the second portion is movable linearly with respect to the central axis so as to breach the internal compartment.

In another aspect of the invention, exemplary embodiments of these teachings provide a removable cap assembly for a container. In this aspect the cap assembly includes a screw ring configured to removably interface with a container, a drinking nipple, a sealing member which in combination with the drinking nipple defines an internal compartment, and a cutting element arranged to breach the sealing member when the screw ring is used to drive the drinking nipple towards a container to which it is interfaced.

In a further aspect of the invention, exemplary embodiments of these teachings provide a removable flow-through cap assembly for a container. In this aspect the assembly comprises a first portion configured to removably interface with a container and a second portion which is securable to a container by the first portion and defining sidewalls and a top surface defining a top aperture. The assembly further comprises a lower sealing member affixed to at least one of the first portion and the second portion, the lower sealing member defining with the lateral sidewalls and the top surface an internal compartment. In this aspect the removable flow-through cap assembly is arranged such that at least one component of the first portion or of the second portion is movable between a first position and a second position so as to breach the internal compartment and allow fluid to flow through opposed ends of the assembly.

Different embodiments of these aspects are illustrated in the several examples which are detailed more fully below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a bottle cap assembly having an internal compartment according to these teachings, in which the compartment remains sealed respecting contents of a bottle to which the bottle cap assembly might be removably affixed.

FIG. 1B is similar to FIG. 1A but showing the compartment breached to allow mixing with contents of a bottle to which the bottle cap assembly might be affixed.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a bottle cap assembly having an internal compartment according to these teachings, in which the compartment remains sealed respecting contents of a bottle to which the bottle cap assembly might be removably affixed

FIG. 2B is similar to FIG. 2A but showing the compartment breached to allow mixing with contents of a bottle to which the bottle cap assembly might be affixed.

FIG. 3A-F illustrate an alternate implementation of the second embodiment, wherein FIG. 3A-B are sectional views with the compartment sealed, FIG. 3C is a sectional view with the compartment breached, FIG. 3D is a sectional view with the assembly in a flow through configuration, and FIG. 3E-F illustrating plan views of the respectively assembled and separated components.

FIG. 4A-C illustrate a third embodiment in which a drinking nipple is used for forming the internal compartment, where FIG. 4A illustrates exploded and exploded sectional views, FIG. 4B is a sectional view with the internal compartment intact and FIG. 4C is a sectional view with the internal compartment breached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description herein particularly details three distinct embodiments illustrated in the drawing figures as well as various modifications to those illustrated embodiments and different implementation thereof. These illustrations are exemplary only and not limiting to the broader teachings enabled by those illustrations and of the modifications thereto which are detailed in text below.

FIG. 1A-B illustrate a first embodiment of a removable bottle cap assembly 100 having an internal compartment which is waterproof and suitable for storing liquids. There is a first portion 102 having lateral sidewalls 104, a mating surface 110 for mating with the second portion 122 to be detailed further below, and a bottom opposed surface 108 which defines an aperture for receiving and mating with a neck of a bottle or similar container. Apart from the mating surface 106 the first portion 102 of the removable bottle cap assembly 100 ay be largely conventional.

When specifically implemented to replace a conventional screw top of a water bottle or the like, interior portions (not shown) of the lateral sidewalls 104 define an inclined plane wrapped about that interior portion which mates with a similar inclined plane wrapped about an exterior surface of a bottle neck sidewall. This enables them to mate in a screw type fashion, and to prevent leakage of liquid between those mating screw surfaces under expected normal operating conditions of ambient temperature and pressure. The extent of the bottom opposed surface 108 of the first portion 102 is in this case simply a ring having a surface area substantially smaller than the 2-dimensional interior area that is circumscribed by the ring which is the aperture that receives the neck of the bottle.

At least part of the mating surface 110 of the first portion 102 is common with the second portion 122 as shown at FIG. 1A, and preferably (but not essentially) these two portions 102, 122 are made as a unitary body so they are not rotatable relative to one another. A central axis 101 runs through the first 102 and second 122 portions, about which they are circularly symmetric as illustrated but this circular symmetry is not necessary in all embodiments (for example, if the top or bottom sectional view of either portion 102, 122 revealed other than a circular shape).

The second portion also has lateral sidewalls 124 and a top surface 128 opposite the mating or common surface 110. While not shown as such in any of the drawings the top of the second portion 122 may not have any top aperture 130, in which case a user would need to remove the bottle cap assembly 100 from the bottle prior to imbibing of the mixed contents. The top aperture 130 is detailed further below.

Penetrating the lateral sidewalls 124 of the second portion 122 are a pair of opposed lateral apertures 125 through which a slideable plate 140 is disposed. The plate 140 has a solid portion 142 and a flow through portion 144 and is slideable between a first position shown at FIG. 1A and a second position shown at FIG. 1B. In the first position shown at FIG. 1A the solid portion 142 of the plate spans the entire distance between the opposed lateral apertures 125. Thus when the plate is in the first position of FIG. 1A, the second portion 122 defines an internal and watertight compartment 150 with the internal surfaces of the lateral sidewalls 124 and the opposed top surface 128. Such an internal compartment 150 may be used to store powders or liquids separate from any contents of the bottle which may be mated to the removable bottle cap assembly 100 via the first portion 102 as detailed above.

So long as the relative sectional dimensions of the plate 140 and those apertures 125 are sufficiently close, they will form a seal against leakage of liquid from that internal compartment 150. Forming the plate 140 and the lateral sidewalls 124 of the second portion from any of the various plastics commonly used for disposable water bottles will provide an effective seal in this respect, given sufficiently close tolerances in the physical dimensions of the plate 140 and lateral apertures 125 of the second portion 122. Such types of plastics include but are not limited to polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PPTE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE, including linear LDPE) which are commonly used in caps for water bottles, as well as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) which is used for liquid container caps less commonly. In an embodiment there may also be a sealing film disposed at least at the interface between the plate 140 and the lateral apertures 125 to better assure they seal against liquid leakage. Such a sealing film is then breached when the plate is moved from the FIG. 1A first position.

In the second position shown at FIG. 1B, the flow through portion 144 of the plate 140 divides the internal compartment 150 from the bottle, allowing the power or liquid within to flow via gravity into the bottle. While a plurality of apertures are shown for the flow through section 144 of the plate 140 at FIG. 1A-B, in another embodiment there is only one large aperture to allow passage of the power or liquid.

For shipping and tamper resistance, there may be a removable plastic strip which retains the movable plate 140 in the first position until such a strip is removed by the user.

The top surface 128 of the second portion 122 is shown at FIG. 1A-B as being slideable along the central axis 101 such that liquid or power may also pass through the top aperture 130. In this manner the bottle cap assembly 100 forms a flow through arrangement. The user first moves the plate 140 into the second position of FIG. 1B to allow the powder or liquid stored within the internal compartment 150 to fall into and mix with the contents of the bottle, and thereafter raises the top opposed surface 128 which is defined on a separate plug 146 so that the mixture can flow in the reverse direction so as to pass through the top aperture 130 which is also on the plug 146. As illustrated the plug 146 slides inside the lateral sidewalls 124 of the second portion 122 until stopped by a lip laterally protruding from the top opposed surface 128. A similar lateral protrusion at the bottom of the plug 146 prevents it from being inadvertently separated from the second portion 122 entirely.

FIG. 1A-B illustrate an embodiment of the assembly 100 in which the internal compartment 150 is breached due to linear movement of a component (the plate 140) perpendicular to the central axis 101. FIG. 2A-B and 3A-F illustrate an embodiment of the bottle cap assembly 200, 300 in which the internal compartment 150 is breached due to linear movement of a component parallel to the central axis 101.

The first portion 102 of FIG. 2A-B with its mating surface 110 is substantially similar to those same elements already detailed with respect to FIG. 1A-B. As shown also the plug 146 with the top surface 128 and the top aperture 130 of the second portion 122 are substantially similar to those shown in FIG. 1A-B but in another embodiment detailed below the plug is different. FIG. 2A-B and 3A-F differ in that instead of a laterally slideable plate 140 there is one or more vertically slideable plungers or cutters 240 which are used to breach the seal of the internal compartment 150. Specifically for the embodiment of FIG. 2A-B, there is a lower sealing member 252 which is penetrated by the plungers/cutters 240 when the plungers/cutters 240 are extended downward through the mating surface 110 of the first portion 102 or through a plane defined by that mating surface 110. This lower sealing member 252 may be made from a same plastic as the remainder of the bottle cap assembly 200, 300, or it may be an aluminum foil or a foil of some other disparate material secured to mate with the lateral sidewalls 124 with an adhesive to assure a water tight seal.

FIG. 2A-B show a bottle cap assembly 200 with the plungers or cutters 240 exterior of the lateral sidewalls 124 of the second portion 122 while in other embodiments they may be disposed interior of the lateral sidewalls 124. In the FIG. 2A-B embodiment the plunger/cutter 240 is advantageously attached to the plug 146 and moves with it. In one particular embodiment at FIG. 2A-B the plug 146 moves both upward and downward. A removable plastic ring may circumscribe the plug 146 near the top opposed surface 128 to retain the plug 146 in a mid-range position for shipping and to ensure against tampering. A similar ring 303 is shown at FIG. 3A.

In the embodiment in which the plunger(s)/cutter(s) lie within the lateral sidewalls 124, a portion of the plunger 240, or one of the plungers/cutters if there are multiple plungers/cutters 240, may have an inwardly extending protrusion so as to fold a major portion of the lower sealing surface 252 downward after it is penetrated. This will allow rapid flow of the powder or liquid from the internal compartment 150 into the bottle.

In the FIG. 2A-B embodiment the mid-range position of the plug 146 is the sealed position in which powder or liquid is retained within the internal compartment 150. In this mid-range position the top aperture 130 may be blocked by a nipple 132 as is conventional for sports bottles. Depressing the plug 146 downward toward the bottle breaches the lower sealing surface 252 to release the contents of the powder or liquid within the internal compartment 150 into the bottle which is attached to the first portion 102. If the top aperture 130 is sealed by a nipple 132 it may remain sealed when the plug 130 is so depressed downward, in which case the user will then raise the plug 130 beyond the mid-range position so as to open the top aperture 130 and pour or drink from the bottle through the flow through compartment 150.

In another embodiment, instead the top aperture 130 is sealed by a removable plastic film or by a flipable slideable cover. In this embodiment the top aperture 130 will be open anytime the film is removed or the flip/slide cap is flipped/slid open, and the user can pour or drink the contents of the bottle through the flow through internal compartment 150 once the plug 146 is depressed and the lower sealing surface 252 is breached. In this embodiment the removable plastic ring will retain the plug 146 in the extended position as shown at FIG. 2B, at which time the cap or film prevents leakage of the contents through the top aperture 130. Removal of the retaining ring allows the user to depress the plug 146 which drives the plunger(s)/cutter(s) 240 downward to breach the lower sealing member 252. In one embodiment the user then raises the plug 146 so the mixture can flow from the bottle through the compartment 150 and out the top aperture 130.

In another embodiment there need not be a film or cap over the top opposed surface 128 of the second portion. Instead the nipple 132 seals the top aperture 130 when the plug is in the raised position as in FIG. 2B to prevent leakage during shipping. Once the user removes the retaining ring the plug 146 may be driven downward from the position shown in FIG. 2B by depressing the plug 146 to the position shown at FIG. 2A, thereby breaching the lower sealing member 252. In this embodiment the nipple 132 is flared at the top edge so that when the plug 146 is depressed as in FIG. 2A the nipple 132 will protrude slightly above the top aperture 130 and allow the mixture to flow from the bottle through the internal compartment 150 and through the top aperture 130 about the narrower stem of the nipple 132 which is not flared.

In the FIG. 1A-B embodiment the solid portion 142 of the plate 140 operates as a sealing member when the plate 140 is in the first position (FIG. 1A) and the internal chamber or compartment 150 is breached when the plate 150 is moved to the second position (FIG. 1B) in which at least a portion of the flow through portion defines the internal compartment 150. The plate 140 is movable between the first and second positions by an external force that is applied substantially perpendicular to the central axis 101. Substantially in this regard means within about 10 degrees of true perpendicular.

In the FIG. 2A-B embodiment the plunger/cutter 240 is movable between a first position (FIG. 2A) in which the sealing member 242 is intact and a second position (FIG. 2B) in which the plunger 240 is depressed to penetrate and deform the sealing member 252. In this embodiment the external force is applied substantially parallel to the central axis 101. Substantially in this regard means within about 10 degrees of true parallel.

FIG. 3A-F illustrate another implementation of the second embodiment. The implementation of FIG. 3A-F is similar to FIG. 2A-B in that the linear motion to breach the lower sealing member 252 is also substantially parallel to the central axis 101. The plug 146 of FIG. 2A-B is formed of two different components in the implementation of FIG. 3A-F, the plunger/cutter takes the shape of a sleeve 346 with the cutter 240 being a lower portion of that sleeve 346, and there is a separate cap 304 that defines the top surface of the second portion 322. FIG. 3A additionally illustrates the removable retaining ring 303 and shows the cap or cover 304 mentioned above. The sleeve 346 with the lower sealing member 252 define the lateral and lower bounds of the internal compartment 150, and the cover 304 overlies the sleeve 346 to define the upper bound of the compartment 150 and to seal the top from leakage when closed. In FIG. 3A-F the lateral sidewalls 124 of the second portion 322 which define in part the internal compartment 150 are sidewalls of the sleeve 346, and the exterior surfaces of the second portion 322 are formed mostly by the cover 304. The lower sealing member 252 is affixed to a portion of the first portion 302.

FIG. 3A illustrates the bottle cap assembly 300 mated with a bottle. The compartment 150 is fully sealed because the lower sealing member 252 remains intact and the cap 304 is in a lowered or closed position. Presence of the ring 303 prevents the cutter portion 340 of the sleeve 346 from being moved downward to breach the lower sealing member 252.

FIG. 3B is a line drawing similar to FIG. 3A with the internal compartment 150 still sealed but with the ring 303 removed. The cutter portion 340 of the sleeve 346 defines several gaps 340 a which allow its cross section to expand outward once moved the lowered position and unconstrained by the first section 302 as will be shown at FIG. 3C. FIG. 3B illustrates the first position in which the sealing member 252 is intact.

FIG. 3C illustrates breaching of the lower sealing member 252 alter removing the ring 303 shown at FIG. 3A the user depresses the cap 304 as shown by the arrow and this action also moves the sleeve 346 downward towards the lower sealing member 252. Specifically, the cap 304 pushes against an extension 346 a of the sleeve 346 so that in one motion the sleeve 346 and cap 304 move relative to the first section 302. As can be seen at FIG. 3A, this extension 346 a was the means by which the removable retaining ring 303 prevented this same downward movement. FIG. 3C illustrates the second position in which the sealing member 252 is breached and the external force is applied downward and parallel to the central axis 101. This downward movement causes the cutter portion 340 of the sleeve 346 to breach the scaling member 252 which FIG. 3C shows is moved to the side as compared to FIG. 3B. This breaching allows the contents of the compartment 150 to fall into the attached bottle. At FIG. 3C the cap 304 and nipple 132 still remain sealed so the contents of the bottle and compartment 150, which are now combined within the bottle, can be shaken for a thorough mixing.

Movement of the sleeve 346 downwards as in FIG. 3C allows its cutter portion 340 to extend inside the bottle. In this position the first portion 302 no longer physically constrains the cutter portions 340 and the gaps 340 a allow the cutter sections 340 to expand away from the central axis 101. A protrusion 340 b on the outboard side of at least some of these cutter sections 340 catches against a portion of the first section 302 to prevent the sleeve 346 from moving upward back to the position shown at FIG. 3B.

At FIG. 3D the user has raised the cap 304 as shown by the arrow. The sleeve 346 remains in the lowered position, with the extension 346 a remaining against the mating surface 110 of the first portion 302, so the cap 304 is moved relative to the sleeve 346 and first section 302. The nipple 132 is attached to the sleeve 346 and so remains in the lowered position also. The overall integrated cap assembly 300 is now flow through in that the lower sealing member 252 is breached and fluid can pass through the top aperture 130 and around the nipple 132.

FIG. 3E is a plan view of the integrated cap assembly 300 described at FIG. 3A-D, and FIG. 3F is a view of the four distinct components which are assembled into the bottle cap assembly 300: the first portion 302, the sleeve 340, the ring 302, and the cap 304. FIG. 3F best shows how the nipple 132 is made one with the sleeve 346 while still allowing flow-through when the cover 304 is raised.

FIG. 4A-C illustrate a third embodiment in which the external force is rotation about the central axis, which the assembly 400 converts to a linear force parallel to the central axis 101 to breach the sealing member. This specific embodiment uses a baby bottle nipple or other such drinking nipple with a foil or other type of sealing member to form the internal compartment. There may be a wax coating over the top aperture/small hole at the tip of the drinking nipple to prevent contents of the compartment from leaking out. In a specific embodiment the contents of the internal compartment 150 is in a powder form.

The bottle cap assembly 400 in this third embodiment consists of three components shown in exploded and exploded sectional views at FIG. 4A: a screw cap 410, a drinking nipple 420, and a cutting element 430. The screw cap 410 forms the first portion 402 in this embodiment 400 and the drinking nipple 420 with the cutting element 430 for the second portion 422. FIG. 4A additionally shows the mating portion of a bottle for context. The cutting element 430 defines an outwardly extending lip 432 to prevent it from dropping fully into the bottle. There is a foil sealing member 252 affixed across a major opening of the drinking nipple 420. The drinking nipple 420 is pliable, and defines lateral sidewalls 124 which meld gradually into a top surface that defines the top aperture 130.

FIG. 4B illustrates the assembly 400 according to the third embodiment attached to the bottle and all of the components with their reference numbers, including the internal compartment 150. There is also shown a retaining ring 403 which is removably attached to the screw cap 410 at a lowermost surface (shown at FIG. 4C); this ring 403 functions as a physical spacer from the bottle itself to prevent the screw cap 410 from being tightened too much. FIG. 4B illustrates the first position in which the internal compartment 150 is filled with the contents and the sealing foil/member 252 is intact and not breached.

FIG. 4C illustrates the second position. In this case the external force is rotational about the central axis 101 and is applied to the screw cap 410 after the retaining ring 402 is removed. This drives the drinking nipple 420 further towards the bottle as the screw ring 410 is tightened. The sealing member 252 is affixed to the drinking nipple 420 and is breached by the cutting element 430 which extends above the lip 432 for this purpose. While the cutting element 430 is shown with this extension above the lip 432 defining a plane parallel to a plane defined by the bottle opening and/or the sealing member 432; in another embodiment the plane of that extension is angled with respect to the plane of the bottle/sealing member so as to not fully separate a portion of the sealing member 432 when breached. The user can simply shake the bottle which now has the mixture of the contents of the bottle and of the compartment 150.

Any of the above embodiments may be made disposable. Additionally, the first portion of any of the assembly embodiments may be made to fit different sized bottles and/or different thread dimensions. This can be done for example by having multiple concentric threaded rings, each similar to the screw cap shown at FIG. 4A-C, arranged in a layered or staggered fashion such as layers of a traditional wedding cake. When such an assembly is mated to a small bottle one of the smaller inboard screw cap rings will mate with the bottle, and for a larger bottle one of the larger outboard screw cap rings will mate. Being made in one piece there will be no leakage regardless. In this manner the same cap assembly can for example mate with a standard 16 ounce water bottle, a standard one-gallon milk container, and a standard five-gallon jerry can.

All of the above embodiments have certain common elements when arranged for the flow-through feature. In this case the removable flow-through cap assembly for a container can be described generically as comprising:

a first portion configured to removably interface with a container;

a second portion which is securable to a container by the first portion and defining side walls and a top surface defining a top aperture; and

a lower sealing member affixed to at least one of the first portion and the second portion, the lower sealing member defining with the lateral sidewalls and the top surface an internal compartment.

Common to all the above flow-through embodiments is that the removable flow-through cap assembly is arranged such that at least one component of the first portion or of the second portion is movable between a first position and a second position so as to breach the internal compartment and allow fluid to flow through opposed ends of the assembly.

For the embodiment of FIG. 1A-B, the at least one component of the above paragraph is of the second portion 122 and comprises the plate 140 having a solid portion 142 which forms the lower sealing member and a flow-through portion 144. Recall that the plate was slideable between the first position (FIG. 1A) in which the solid portion defines the internal compartment and the second position (FIG. 1B) in which at least a portion of the flow-through portion defines the internal compartment, which in that case is breached. Fluid flows through the opposed ends of the entire assembly 100 via the flow-through portion 144 of the plate and the top aperture 130.

For the embodiment of FIG. 2A-B, the at least one component noted above is of the second portion and comprises a plug 146 defining the top surface with the top aperture and at least one plunger or cutter 240 internal or external of the lateral sidewalls. Recall that the plunger/cutter was movable with the plug between the first position (FIG. 2A) in which the sealing member is intact and a second position (FIG. 2B) in which the plunger/cutter is depressed to breach the sealing member. FIG. 3B additionally shows the cap raised to allow the fluid to flow through the opposed ends of the entire assembly 300 via the breached sealing member 252 and the top aperture 130.

For the embodiment of FIG. 3A-F, the second portion comprises a cap 304 and a sleeve 346. In this case the at least one component noted above then comprises the sleeve 346 which defines the lateral sidewalls 146 and a nipple 132 and which has cutting portions 340. For FIG. 3A-F the sleeve is movable between a first position in which the sealing member is intact while the nipple 132 seals against the top aperture 130, and a second position in which the cutting portion 340 of the sleeve 346 breach the sealing member. In this embodiment it was the separate cap 304 which defined the top surface with the top aperture, and the cap 304 is movable with the FIG. 3A-F plug 240 from the first position (FIG. 3B) to the second position (FIG. 3C) and is further movable from the second position back to the first position (FIG. 3D) while the sleeve 340 remains in the second position and the nipple is not sealed against the top aperture. Like FIG. 2A-B, for FIG. 3A-F fluid similarly flows through the opposed ends of the entire assembly 300 via the breached sealing member 252 and the top aperture 130.

For the embodiment of FIG. 4A-C, the second portion comprises a pliable drinking nipple 420 defining the lateral sidewalls 124 and the top surface with the top aperture 130, and the sealing member 252 is affixed to the drinking nipple opposite the top surface. In this embodiment the at least one component mentioned above is the first portion which comprises a screw ring 410. This embodiment of the removable flow-through cap assembly 400 further comprises a cutting element 430 arranged to breach the sealing member when the screw ring is moved from a first position (FIG. 4B) relative to a container/bottle to which the screw ring is interfaced, and a second position (FIG. 4C) in which the screw ring is tightened against the container which drives the sealing member against the cutting element to effect the breach. Similar to FIG. 2A-B and 3A-F, the fluid flow through the opposed ends of the entire FIG. 4A-C assembly 400 is then via the breached sealing member 252 and the top aperture 130 which is a small hole in the pliable drinking nipple 420.

The above are non-limiting embodiments which are presented to give an understanding of the more general principles of the invention, some of which are set forth in the claims below. Some of the features of the various non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of this invention may be used to advantage without the corresponding use of other features. As such, the foregoing description should be considered as merely illustrative of the principles, teachings and exemplary embodiments of this invention, and not in limitation thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A removable flow-through cap assembly for a container, the assembly comprising: a first portion configured to removably interface with a container; a second portion which is securable to a container by the first portion and defining lateral sidewalls and a top surface defining a top aperture; and a lower sealing member affixed to at least one of the first portion and the second portion, the lower sealing member defining with the lateral sidewalls and the top surface an internal compartment: wherein the removable flow-through cap assembly is arranged such that at least one component of the first portion or of the second portion is movable between a first position and a second position so as to breach the internal compartment and allow fluid to flow through opposed ends of the assembly, wherein: the second portion comprises a pliable drinking nipple defining the lateral sidewalls and the top surface with the top aperture, and the lower sealing member is affixed to the drinking nipple opposite the top surface; and the at least one component is the first portion which comprises a screw ring, 15 and the removable flow-through cap assembly further comprises: a cutting element arranged to breach the sealing member when the screw ring is moved from a first position relative to a container to which the screw ring is interfaced and a second position in which the screw ring is tightened against the container which drives the sealing member against the cutting element.
 2. The removable cap assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a retaining ring removably affixed to a surface of the screw ring.
 3. The removable cap assembly according to claim 1, wherein the cutting element defines an outboard lip and an extension above the lip facing the sealing member so as to breach the sealing member when the screw cap is tightened on the container.
 4. The removable cap assembly according to claim 1, wherein the first portion further comprises multiple concentric threaded rings of different internal diameter arranged in a staggered fashion, wherein each concentric threaded ring is configured to removably interface with a different type of container.
 5. The removable cap assembly according to claim 1, wherein the removable cap assembly is disposable. 